Oil saver



N 1933- A. PRANGER ET AL 2,11%,465

OIL SAVER Filed Sept. 28, 1956 2 Sheets-S'net l 2 Awmr Fem 0:0.

Nov. 15, 1938. A. PRANGER ETAL 2,136,465

OIL-SAVER Filed Sept. 28, 1956 2 Sheets-Shee1. 2

MW 25 4/ I Awswlmwsz I 0%; 5 jW/mlMMe/mmv Patented Nov. 15 1938 PATENT OFFICE 2,136,485 om SAVER Albert Pranger and Homer F.

Carrington, Dallas,

Tex., assignors to The Guiberson Corporation,

Dallas, Ten,

a corporation of Delaware Application September 28, 1936, Serial No. 102,963 3 Claims. (01. ar-51 This invention relates to oil savers. ticularly, it has to do with devices for nection with oil wells and the like, to escape and waste of in the well under pressure.

One object of theinvention is to provide a practical and highly efficient device which is ,eifectiveunder high fluid pressures for sealing ofl the space between an outer well casing tube and aninner tube, rod or other interposed element, either in well drilling operations or in the flow control of producing wells. I

Another object is to provide a structure for the practicalntilization of a durable packing material that will effectively resist and overcome the naturally deleterious and destructive action of well fiu ids that seriously affects and deteriorates the ordinary rubber materials more commonly employed heretofore in well packings,

A further object is to produce in particular a device specially applicable to a well casing head arrangement whereby to provide a dependable and durable seal therefor.

Other objects and advantages tov be attained will hereinafter more fully appear in the following description.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other featuresoof the invention. I

prevent the The invention will be more readily understood from a readingof the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of the housing ofa device illustrative of a practical embodiment of the invention; ,n

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal, sectional view, on an enlarged scale, showing the interior structural features;

Figure 3 is' a. side elevation, on the'same scale as Figure 1,of the housing with 'a portion of an end closure head packing eictension' broken away and in partial section;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the parts shown in Figure 2 and on the same scale;

Figure 5 is a detail isometric view of one of the packing blocks detached; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section, on an enlarged. scale, showing detail of the undercut grooving of the resilientmaterial ofth'emacking blockelements.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral I I0 designates the housing of the device generally. As shcwn, the housing body is a one-piece More parv use in conprovided at the bottom of Portions 26 being 25 of each of the casting, preferably steel of high tensile strength, accurately machined on the outside to receive standard flanged fittings and also machined on fluid produced and confined the inside to produce effective sealing surfaces for the movable packing elements to withstand high pressures The housing, as shown, and which is an ideal form, is generally round in fcross section, except that its middle portion Ii is substantially rectangular interiorly and fiat throughout at the top' and bottom on the outside, as at l2, it.

At opposite ends, the housing body III is annuiarly flanged, as at lt, IE, respectively, and to said flanged portions, heads I6, I I, are respectively secured by bolts I8, lit.

The housing body with a machined face 20 and anannular series of securing bolts or studs 2| for the attachment of a standard flanged pipe fitting (not shown); said machined face mhbeing provided withanannular groove 22 for the reception of a standard metallic gasket ring (not shown). A similar pipe fitting face 20'; studs 2| andgroove 22' are" the housing b0 y Slidably fitted within the housing body ID are two opposed packing blocks 23 and 24, said blocks lil is provided .at its top 7 form or cage-like and I A cylindrical shank extension ifi, said shank ex- }:tensions-having apertures 21 establishing communication between the chambered portion 28 thereof and the surrounding space in the body Ill and heads [6, ll.

In the heads l6 and I! of the housing body ID, areprovided central cylindrical guide portions 29 in which the shank portions 26 of blocks Ztfand 24 are slidably fitted, "said shank internally screw-threaded, asat 30, toreceive the adjusting screws 3|, which latter are swivelecl, as at 32, in the outer bearing portions 33 of the heads J8 and Ill.

The bearing rtions 33 of the heads l6 and ii are prefera ly provided with suitable selftightening packings 34 and cooperating retainer caps 35. As shown, the screw members M are eachprovided with a thrust collar 36 abuttingthe inner end of thebearing portion 33, 'while the outei' portion of the screw member 3! is reduced in diameter and has keyed thereon, as at 3?, a handle member 38 which is retainedby a nut 39, said handle member preferably having the two crank arm extensions 40, as shown.

Molded on the hollow but rigid cage-like body packing blocks 23 and 24, is a provided with a hollow the packin I body of elastic compressible material 4|, preferably a material now generally used in the art .to which the invention is more particularly adapted, called Duprene, which has all the elastic qualities of heretofore used rubber materials but is further resistant to the deleterious action and effect of the well fluids encountered in the use thereof. This is an importantadvantage in the present invention.

The packing blocks 23 and 24 are of general rectangular external form and they are made so as.

ing portions 44, 45, on opposite sides of said semi-.

circular recessed portions.

The semi-circular recessed portions 42, 43, of the resilient compressible bodies 4|, are grooved annularly, as at 45, thereby producing, in effect, aplurality of separate annular ribs or collars 41 to engage about the interposed tube or element to be packed off in the housing "I. So, too, it

is preferable to provide the resilient compressible body portions 4| with semi-circular grooves 43,

- 49, at top and bottom thereof, respectively. It

is further preferable to undercut the inner side walls of the grooves to provide an annular lip 48' which is forced into sealing contact with the adiacent face of the housing III by the fluid pressure in the well (see Figure 6 of the drawings).

The annular grooving 45 of the portions 42 and 43 of the respective packing blocks 23 and 24, to produce a multiplicity of engaging collars 4'I, permits tubing or elements with coupling enlargements or other surface protuberances to be moved forcibly between the packing blocks 23 and 24 and at the same time assures the effective sealing against the flow of the well fluids under pressure around the interposed tube or element while the annular top and bottom grooving 48, 49 of said resilient compressible material aifords a most effective seal between the contiguous machined "faces of the housing body I0 and said packing blocks 23 and 24 as each rib or collar portion 41 separately engages the tube or element located therebetween. Y

Preferably, the lowermost rib or collar portion 41 of each packing'block 23 and 24 is provided with a semi-circular groove 50 in the underside thereof, thereby producing, in effect, an annular tongue portion which is compressed by the well pressure ment whenthe device is. applied in use.

As shown'more clearly in Figure 5 of the drawings, the meeting squared face portions 44 and 45 of the packing blocks 23 and 24 are respectively provided with transverse rib portions 52 and grooves 53, arranged in staggered relation on opposite sides "of the blocks, whereby, when said blocks are brought together in engaging relation to the interposed tube or element to be packed off,

.the rib portions 52 of the one block. enter the correspondingly grooved portions 53 of the opposite block whereby to afford a more effective seal between the squared meeting faces of the two .blocksyand by which arrangement the necessity of aking the blocks separately in rights and let is obviated.

By-machining the interior faces of the housing tightly about the interposed tube or elebody Ill and fitting the corresponding external rectangular faces of the packing blocks 23 and 24 normally accurately thereto, and slidably fitting the shank portions 25 of the body frame 25 in the central guide portions 23 of the heads l6 and I1, respectively, proper alinement is assured and binding of the packing blocks 23 and 24 in the housing is practically prevented and at the same time any tendency to bend the adjusting or takeup screws 3| is avoided, by which arrangement an effective seal is provided to prevent the escape of the well fluids under pressure. So, too, a more effective sealing between the interposed tube or other element and the engaging faces of the packing blocks 23 and 24 is afforded by the provision of the annular grooves 45 and plurality of engaging ribs or collars 41, together with the under-grooving 50 and annular lip formation 5| of the lowermost rib or collar portion 41, as hereinbefore described.

Obviously, the device admits modification within the spirit and scope of the invention'as defined in the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: 7

1. In an oil saver, a body housing having top and bottom openings for the passage of an element therethrough to be packed ofl, and a pair of opposed packing blocks slidably fitted in said body housing, each packing block comprising a cage-like body frame having a shank extension provided with operating screw actuating means whereby said blocks may be moved towards and from each other to engage and disengage the interposed element within the body housing, and a body of resilient compressible material molded into and covering said cage-like body frame, the top, bottom and side faces of said body of resilient compressible material being shaped to slidably fit corresponding interior face portions of said of considerable I body housing and -the meeting portions of said collars being also annulariy grooved on its underside.

2. In an oil saver, a body' housing of generally rectangular interior form and machine. faced, and having central openings in its top and bottom for the passage of an element therethrough to be packed off, the top and bottom of the body housing being externally machine faced surrounding said central openings and 'having provision for the attachment of outer tube fittings, the opposite transverse ends of said body housing having outwardly tapered hollow end closure members fitted with machine faced meeting portions, said closure members having machine finished inner guide portions and axially alined outer bearingportions, opposed packing blocks in said body housing,

said blocks comprising metal body members having internally screw-threaded shank extensions fitted slidably in said guide portions of said closure members, screw members fitted cooperatively in said shank extensions and swiveled rotatably but without endwise movement in said outer ing portions recessed semi-circularly tofit about the interposed element inserted for packing in said body housing, said semi-circularly recessed portions of the resilient compressible packing block body being annularly grooved to produce a multiplicity of separately acting element engaging collars, the lowermost of said collars having an annular groove in its under side producing an annular fluid pressure compressible lip and the top and bottom faces of the packing block body having semi -circular grooves therein; the inner walls of said semi-circular grooves being undercut to produce annular lips to engage the adjacent face of the housing.

3. In an oil saver, a body housing having an opening in top and bottom for the passage of an' element therethrough to be packed ofi, opposed packing blocks slidably fitted in-said body housing, and means for moving said blocks towards and from each other and for holding them in their respective positions, said blocks each comprising a rigid body frame and a body of resilient compressible material formed within and covering the frame, the meeting portions of said blocks having interfltting ribs and grooves and central semi-circular recesses to fit about an interposed element inserted in the body housing, said recessed portions being annularly grooved to produce separate element-engaging collar portions on said blocks, the blocks having semi-circular grooves in their top and bottom faces and the lowermost of said collar portions having annular grooves in their undersides producing annular fluid pressure compressible lips.

ALBERT PRANGER. HOMER F. CARRINGTON. 

